Current MinnSUG Board Members

Vicki Siemers                  vsiemers42@gmail.com 

I have been programming in SAS for 25 years in a variety of industries (financial, education, direct marketing, media) and on a variety of platforms (SAS EG, Base SAS on a PC, UNIX, mainframe).  I have used SAS for sample selection, reporting, data quality, and analysis.  I currently work at US Bank on the Database Marketing team, where I use SAS for list creations/sample selection for the many types of customer contact (offers, notifications, account management, surveys) that US Bank does.  I can’t imagine a job where I don’t use SAS.

I have attended the MinnSUG meetings (and its predecessors) for many years.  I find MinnSUG to be a terrific opportunity to gain new knowledge and exposure to new ideas.  It’s also a great way to network with fellow SAS users  and learn how other companies are using SAS.  I would love to be a part of the MinnSUG Board and help develop and expand the SAS community here in the Twin Cities.  I love programming (I’m a very detail-oriented person and I love the logic involved in programming) and SAS just seems to fit with me.  I think it’s one of the most diverse software platforms available and one of the most intuitive to learn.  I always call myself a SAS junkie – I go into withdrawals when I’m not using SAS.

William Kane                  William.Kane@usbank.com   kane.bill@hotmail.com 

I currently work at US Bank and lead a data analytics team. I started using SAS at Ameriprise Financial in 2011 where I helped create a department within internal audit that provided data analytics support. I’ve used a multitude of tools through my experience in data analytics and have found SAS to be the one that most consistently delivers the analysis that I need.

I’ve enjoyed attending local, regional, and national SAS events in the past and am excited to help others realize the benefits of SAS through my capacity as President and SAS Liaison.

Sara Richter SRichter@richterstats.com

Erik Miller                      ariq.miller@gmail.com 

Kate Bargabus           kate.bargabus@state.mn.us 

Tristan Fankus           Tristan.frankus@state.mn.us 

PAST MinnSUG Board Members

Donalee Wanna

Mary Wendt

Kristine Brassill

Swati Argawal

Rafi Sheikh

Cody Murray

Chad Stegeman

Soma Ghosh

Amanda Klosner

Mitch Monson

Arlen Harmoning

Nicole M. Painter

Koushik Dutta

Jessica Sonbert

Chad Gohman

Kedren "Reade" Sitton

BOARD OPERATION Guidelines

Board President - Has authority/responsibility to direct other Board members to accomplish tasks.

Board operating year - Generally from August through July. For purposes of Board elections, we are using the SAS sponsored meeting as our annual meeting. The transition of Board members occurs in the month of the annual meeting (i.e. if annual meeting is in July, the newly elected members become part of the Board starting immediately. The members whose terms expire should continue through the next Board meeting, the organizational meeting.).

Organizational meeting – Elect Board President and assign volunteers to other Board Roles. NOTE: for those roles without volunteers, the President should assign someone. Second NOTE: Persons assigned to roles don’t have to be Board members but can be other members who want to assist and accomplish that role for part or most of that year. The organizational meeting will generally be the August or first meeting after the SAS sponsored meeting or MinnSUG annual member meeting, after new Board members are elected.

Yearly planning meeting – at a minimum discuss and plan the next SAS sponsored meeting. This meeting should occur after the tasks involved with the organizational meeting have been accomplished. 

MinnSUG Board Election

Election process

The business of MinnSUG is accomplished by the board via conference calls and email. An election is held once a year at the SAS Institute, Inc. sponsored meeting, hereafter referred to as the annual meeting. We will vote electronically via a Survey Monkey link, with a paper ballot backup. Voting members are persons attending our annual meeting.

Commitment for serving on MinnSUG board

Nominees for MinnSUG board should have approval of their employer. While the time commitment is not large, the monthly board conference calls and the annual meeting do occur during normal business hours. Timely responses to emails is also expected, but certain tasks may be completed at other times. MinnSUG members nominating someone else should obtain their nominee’s approval before doing so.

Getting on the MinnSUG Ballot

The ballot may consist of invited persons (nominating committee) or other nominations. Nominees can self-nominate or be nominated by another qualifying member, by sending an email to minnesotasasug@gmail.com by at least one day prior to the voting at the annual meeting. The nomination email should include:

1) person’s name, 

2) a short bio,

3) why the person wants to run, and what they love about SAS. 

The MinnSUG board shall approve the final ballot and provide a brief spot on the meeting agenda for the candidates to address the attendees and voting members. Board approved nominees may also have their nomination posted to the MinnSUG website.